


Entanglement

by MapleHere



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Gen, M/M, Mutual Pining, the great camping trip of 1914
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-15 04:34:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29183358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MapleHere/pseuds/MapleHere
Summary: ~PRO/R*YED SHIPPERS DNI~Ling nodded sagely as Ed poked at the embers and threw on another log.  "I told him that I had a question for you.""'S that right?" Ed asked, an amused grin pulling at him.  "And was that true, or were you just tryin' for a day pass?"Ling smiled at Ed's words, and Ed felt warm.  "No, no.  I really do have a question for you," Ling met Ed's eyes across the fire and tucked his legs beneath himself, "if you don't mind my asking."Ed flushed lightly, grateful for the dim light of the fire, and shrugged as he dropped his gaze to the flames.  "Go for it.""You needed a disguise, right?  A new look?" Ed nodded.  "Why not cut your hair?"~PRO/R*YED SHIPPERS DNI~
Relationships: Edward Elric & Alphonse Elric, Edward Elric & Winry Rockbell, Edward Elric/Ling Yao
Comments: 17
Kudos: 64





	Entanglement

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there! This was written as a request over on my twitter (@paninyasimp) for my friend Sarah (@elricsyao here and there), so I hope you like it! I've held the headcanon for a while that Ed grew his hair out because Alphonse couldn't, so hopefully this makes sense.
> 
> Enjoy!  
> ~~  
> Edit because apparently saying that R*yEd shippers are not welcome here in my summary wasn't enough:
> 
> If you ship Roy with Edward, you are not welcome here. Do not interact. Do not comment. Do not leave Kudos. I don't need your validation.
> 
> As a victim of grooming behavior with someone only four years older than me, it baffles me how you can look at a 30-year-old man and a 15-year-old boy who canonly views him as a stand-in for his father and think, "Yes, this is good and fine and healthy."
> 
> Do not interact with my content. You are not welcome.

To Edward, haircare had always been an afterthought. Losing his mother at the age of six―before he'd even really learned how to properly wash his own hair―had only exacerbated the issue. Pinako had done her best to take over where she could, but she was only capable of so much.

She would do her best to wrangle them into the tub _at least_ every two days, but they'd been so wrapped up in their alchemy studies that it had only gotten harder as they grew. By eight, Ed had taken over helping his brother with his hygiene, and they'd given each other botched haircuts every time their bangs became an annoyance. During their time with Izumi, she had kept their hair neatly trimmed and combed (some of Ed's favorite memories were of Izumi gently carding her fingers through his hair after getting ready in the morning, comb soon to follow).

Once they had returned to Resembool, the boys were far too absorbed with their research to care about haircuts, and though Alphonse had asked Granny to clean him up (in preparation for meeting his mother), Ed had left his hair shaggy.

"Wouldn't it be nice?" he'd asked. "If Mom cut my hair, I mean." He'd offered Al a beaming smile as he pushed his bangs back. "Like, if she knew we still needed her and stuff."

Al had rolled his eyes at this. "Do you really think she'll see it that way? She'll probably scold you for letting it get so long."

The two had laughed and continued their preparations after that, teasing each other about what they'd be in trouble for: Al for never finishing his dishes, Ed for leaving his laundry on the floor, both of them for dirtying their father's study again.

"It'll be great, won't it?"

Of course, the attempt at human transmutation had failed, as most all do, and then next time he'd had a chance to think about his hair, it only came to mind because Winry had asked.

"Would...would you like me to cut your hair, Ed?" she had offered, meek and afraid.

Ed had heard Alphonse's armor―Alphonse's _body_ ―jostle at that, and his own chest had ached.

"N...no thanks, Winry," he had said, offering her an empty smile. "I'm...I like it like this." It had been a lie―he'd hated how shaggy it looked, but...

_Al can't, so I shouldn't._

And so, he'd resolved (silently, secretly) that his hair would grow until Al's could be cut.

What had begun as yet another way to remind himself of his sin gradually became an instrument of comfort, as well as a veil from the outside world, a cocoon spun with his own failure.

His braid had weighed heavy at the nape of his neck throughout his travels, a sleek rope of gold that threatened each day to wrap around him and squeeze. It was odd, but simply changing his hairstyle to a high ponytail had been unbelievably liberating. The gentle brush of strands every few steps felt a lot lighter, the reminder still present, though not nearly as overbearing.

One night, after Heinkel and Darius had called it a night and Ed and Greeling were left to stare wordlessly at the fire, the prince emerged with a query. "Hey, Ed?" Ling said softly, and Edward lifted his gaze to the face of his friend.

"Ling, hey," he sighed with a grin. "It's good to hear from you."

Ling offered a light chuckle and looked up at the sky. "It's good to be heard from. Greed's not too good at sharing."

Ed laughed at that. "It's in the name, right?"

"That it is," Ling agreed, a fond smile curling his lips. "He did agree to hand over control for a few minutes, though."

"Yeah?" Ed questioned, raising an eyebrow and grabbing the stick he'd designated for stirring the fire.

Ling nodded sagely as Ed poked at the embers and threw on another log. "I told him that I had a question for you."

"'S that right?" Ed asked, an amused grin pulling at him. "And was that true, or were you just tryin' for a day pass?"

Ling smiled at Ed's words, and Ed felt warm. "No, no. I really do have a question for you," Ling met Ed's eyes across the fire and tucked his legs beneath himself, "if you don't mind my asking."

Ed flushed lightly, grateful for the dim light of the fire, and shrugged as he dropped his gaze to the flames. "Go for it."

"You needed a disguise, right? A new look?" Ed nodded. "Why not cut your hair?"

The blond stiffened at that before forcing himself to relax. It was a valid question. A haircut would have been a much more drastic change―he probably would have been almost unrecognizable. "It's...hard to explain," he conceded, brows furrowing as he pushed around the charred wood in front of him. He could have lied to Greed about it―probably would have claimed it was "part of the look," or something―but not to Ling. He couldn't bring himself to lie to Ling.

"If it makes you uncomfortable―"

"No, it's not that," Ed interrupted with a sigh as he put his poker to the side. "I..." Ed pursed his lips, brows furrowing as he considered his words. "Al. I grew it out for Al," he said, threading his fingers together as he eyed the fire. "He can't cut his hair―he has no hair to cut―hasn't since the transmutation. I―"

"You're waiting for him." Ling's words were matter-of-fact, and Ed looked up into one of the kindest smiles he'd ever seen. "That's very noble of you," Ling said softly, and Ed flushed again.

"I don't know about that," Ed said, looking away as his ears warmed.

"Well, I do." Ed looked back to the prince, his heart skipping as the taller of the two offered him a secret wink.

"I―"

"Later," Ling said, grin growing wistful. "Time's up." Ed's heart fell, but he nodded.

"Later," Ed confirmed, and the two shared a nod before Greed's obnoxious ambiance set in.

"That little prince of yours really likes to ask questions, doesn't he?" the homunculus asked as he stretched Ling's arms above his head.

Ed bristled and looked back at the fire. "Yeah."

"Well, for what it's worth," Greed said, standing, "I think he's right. Pretty damn noble puttin' up with all those tangles."

Ed's chest tightened at that, the tiniest of smiles splitting his lips. "Thanks."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Comments are always appreciated! Thank you so much to my friends Liam (idiotwerewolf), Sarah (elricsyao), and Noah (lbk_princen) for their help with this work! You can find them here on AO3 at those usernames, and you can find me on tumblr at maples-pages or rizathehawkseyehawkeye!


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